Finally

Castor Gallery is pleased to present “Finally”, an exhibition of new works by Jeanette Hayes, Stephen Lack, Stacy Leigh, Brad Phillips, Lucas Price, Michael Pybus, and Gregory Thielker. This will be the first show at our new Chelsea address 548 West 28th Street - 2nd floor.

Press Release

Castor Gallery is pleased to present “Finally”, an exhibition of new works by Jeanette Hayes, Stephen Lack, Stacy Leigh, Brad Phillips, Lucas Price, Michael Pybus, and Gregory Thielker. This will be the first show at the galleries new Chelsea address 548 West 28th Street - 2nd floor.Opening reception will be November 10th from 6-9pm with select artists in attendance.

Jeanette Hayes is both a painter and multimedia artist, incorporating both influences into her pieces. Her work addresses the contrast between high art and pop culture, juxtaposing canonical images from art history with references to modern technology and contemporary figures in media and entertainment. Hayes has shown internationally at XPO Gallery in Paris, Levy Delval in Brussels and Motelsallieri Gallery in Rome. Complex Magazine chose Hayes as an artist to watch, The New York Times featured her in their first "Up Next" column and she been named one of Artnet’s 30 Most Exciting Artists in North America Today.

Stephen Lack has established himself as a renowned artist who has endured decades of changing trends in the art world, all the while staying true to his own artistic vision. His paintings, drawings, and sculptures speak to his unique interpretation of his surroundings. Emerging in the 1970’s, Lack aligned with the increased interest in popular media, representing hyper-dramatic scenes in his artwork. But his range of subject matter is much broader; his body of work includes serene suburban landscapes, anonymous portraits and many other subjects that distinguish Lack from his artistic peers. Despite the characteristically pleasant palette, these works evoke an unsettling feeling in the viewer; the lack of detail in the faces of his portraits eliminates any trace of identity, an effect that is both mysterious and disturbing. His paintings of suburbia are similarly disconcerting, for often the scenes are left bare. His work is featured in many public and private collections, including those of the Brooklyn Museum, the New York Public Library, Australian National Gallery, Chase Manhattan Bank, M.T.V., Royal Bank of Canada,The New York Stock Exchange,The Ralph Lauren Collection, Warsh Collection and the Rubell Family Collection. Lack has exhibited throughout the world, including his home country of Canada, the United States, and Germany, among others. Notable shows include Indianapolis Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, Wooster Gardens,The Andy Warhol Museum,The New Museum, Gracie Mansion & Forum Gallery.

Stacy Leigh is a photographer and painter based out of NYC. Leigh is primarily known and gained prominence as a photographer who examines the relationships between inanimate love dolls and humans through carefully staged and curated photographs. In this new series of paintings Leigh was inspired by the plight of social media girls known as “Instagram Models”. A mix of both her imagination and real women, this new body of work explores the emotions of these “models” during moments that would be considered private. past shows include a solo show with Castor Gallery. upcoming shows include a soon to be dated solo show and group show.

Brad Phillips is a contemporary Canadian painter and writer. He is best known for his dark complex work with the deep tropes of suicide, sex and self-injury. He has exhibited around the world, and is the subject of various critical texts and interviews. Aesthetically, Phillips is noted for his photorealist style and often references his own photographs to compose his paintings. He is known for his dark and often sinister imagery[4] as well as text-based works, many of which include literary references. He often employs satire, autobiography, and black humor in his paintings. Phillips calls his work highly biographical and likens his style to "confessional poetry.”His work has been shown at international art fairs, including the Armory Show New York, NADA Fair Miami, the Toronto International Art Fair and others. Brad Phillips' works are included in art collections of the Glenbow Museum, the Capital Group Companies, the Royal Bank of Canada, Hauser & Wirth Collection, and the Toronto philanthropist W. Bruce C Bailey.

Michael Pybus hijacks capitalist brands and icons as a means to create an instant ‘relationship’ with the audience. They may not know his work but everyone knows and has a relationship to brands and icons such as IKEA and Pikachu (love / hate or indifferent to them). Pybus processes this iconography through collage and painting (the scratchy dry brushing being his signature saturating the images that he’s appropriated) to create new meanings, reading and narratives. Through doing so Michael also lay claim to such imagery in a sense so that this generic iconography and branding becomes personally linked to himself which then goes full circle and becomes associated with a brand again, only this time it’s Michael Pybus’s own brand as an artist. Upcoming solo shows include Depart Foundation LA in 2017. Prior solo shows include Johannes Vogt (NYC), Evelyn Yard (UK), & Carl Kostyal (Sweden).

Gregory Thielker (b. 1979) has participated in numerous exhibitions and has lived both in the United States and overseas. His previous works includes a Fulbright fellowship to research the Grand Trunk Road in India as well as site projects in Afghanistan, Norway, and El Salvador. Moving on from his most well know series of rain paintings we will be debuting a new work “Differential” - Continuing the themes of roadways and complex visual perspectives, the new painting series is concerned with the sense of movement. A zoom perspective is created through blurred shapes and colors, pushing the connection between observation and sensation. Thielker earned a BA in Art History from Williams College and an MFA in Painting from University of Washington, St. Louis. His work has been featured in The Observer (UK), La Repubblica (Italy), and Vermont Public Radio.